Just got linux on my laptop

[jicksrocks]

The heading is pretty self explanatory..
Ive never used linux before and don't know what is essential to know.
If anyone could give me a few fundamentals that I should start on with Kubuntu Gutsy I'd really appreciate it. One approach I took to learning it was just clicking on everything in the menus and finding out what they do which has taught me some things and what their purpose is. I'm very keen to learn how to use it but I'm just not sure where I should start
cheers

[dibl]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Welcome, and congratulations!

In general, this forum serves to render assistance with problems, when a Kubuntu user has already attempted to "follow instructions" and experienced a problem. There are many sources for general information and instructions, including:

http://kudos.berlios.de/kf/kf.html

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?board=53.0

and my favorite Linux book Beginning Ubuntu Linux by Keir Thomas.

As far as the fundamentals, it kind of depends on how you like to learn. If you are like me, you start clicking until you break your system, and then you have a learning experience figuring out how to fix or re-install it. :P

Or, if you would rather read some of the above materials first, and then do your clicking, you might avoid a re-installation.

[Qqmike]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

And pick something you'd *like* to do. Like play a wmv or mpg movie. Then figure out how to do it. Or send email. Or run YouTube. Or play with your flash drives (put data or operating systems on the flash drive). You will find that, usually, there is more than one way to do things in Linux/Kubuntu. I'm sure you have some good ideas of your own.


A couple of the many good sites for technical basics:

Tuxfiles: http://www.tuxfiles.org/
Psychocats: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php

[jicksrocks]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Well I guess I'll start with doing the everyday things I do on my computer.
I know I'm interested in using Linux' equivalent of Word and Excel since I'm at uni, and I'd obviously be using my laptop at uni, and then converting it into a word or excel file... I cant do much on the net for now since my wireless won't work and that is not something I'm prepared to try and fix until I have a better understanding of the different types of files and the general way linux system works.
Linux saved me from losing a HD on my main PC so I feel it deserves my attention now and it seems a crapload easier to learn that Vista... considering Vista crashes every three minutes, continuously trying to beat the record before >

[jicksrocks]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Okay my first question is: how do I read DVD's. I have no problem reading CD's... Kubuntu seams to mount them automatically. Although when I put a DVD in it gives me a bunch of errors such as:

mount: block device /dev/hda is write-protected, mounting read only
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad-superblock on /dev/hda, missing codepage or helper program, or other error
Then I went into console and typed: dmesg and got:

[ 1097.228000] UDF-fs: No fileset found
[ 1097.504000] Unable to identify CD-ROM format.
[ 1278.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 1577.040000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 1933.040000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 2143.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 2522.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 2905.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 3371.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 3414.876000] UDF-fs: No fileset found
[ 3415.136000] Unable to identify CD-ROM format.
[ 3769.040000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 3937.828000] UDF-fs: No VRS found
[ 3937.860000] ISO 9660 Extensions: Microsoft Joliet Level 3
[ 3937.884000] ISOFS: changing to secondary root
[ 3979.640000] UDF-fs: No fileset found
[ 3979.900000] Unable to identify CD-ROM format.
[ 4190.044000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[ 4356.716000] UDF-fs: No fileset found
[ 4356.968000] Unable to identify CD-ROM format.
[ 4416.564000] UDF-fs: No fileset found
[ 4416.824000] Unable to identify CD-ROM format.

To me its just jumble but hopefully one day it will be a language I can understand

[Snowhog]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Steps are here

[Qqmike]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

jicksrocks,

also, the obvious--right under our noses!

K-menu button (lower left corner, of course) > Help,

then start clicking around. It's not perfect and not complete, but there's tons there to start with. I just now thought of it while using it to look for something. Much good info & many good methods, tips and tricks there.

fyi.

[jicksrocks]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Thanks Qqmike. I'm slowly progressing through the basics of the shell. It's slowly occurring to me that you can do some really powerful scripts with shell... if you know how to

[Qqmike]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Linux System Administrator's Guide

http://linux.about.com/od/lsa_guide/a/gdelsa_idx.htm

Free, on-line, and worth a look. Most stuff I see there is pretty much current. Good basics about Linux OS overview and layout; description of the filesystem. Follows FHS (Filesystem Hierarchy Standard), but also points out other ways you might see it done. I've been reading through it myself, it's interesting, brief & to the point. Of course, another reference is the FHS--I don't have the link handy but google will get you a nice .pdf file to download.

EDIT added: FHS@ on the web at: http://www.pathname.com/fhs/

another fyi for you

--Mike

PS
A more in-depth discussion of kernel internals can be found at http://www.tldp.org/LDP/lki/index.html . (written for the 2.4 kernel)

Quite advanced (for me, I should say), but scanning through it gives an overview and adds to your insights and vocabulary on the subject.

[Qqmike]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

and this well-known site:

Linux Documentation Project Guides

http://www.tldp.org/guides.html

[pulpfile]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Another recommendation:

RUTE User's Tutorial and Exposition
http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz

It's very in-depth, but concise and easy to read.
I've gotten about 40% of the way through, with Konsole (to test out stuff as I read) and Kate (to make notes).

[adileader]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Is it just me or Linux is hard to understand. I don't have it on my computer until now because I had problems installing it but as far as I see people have serious problems. If someone has problems reading CDs than that IS serious!

[dibl]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Is it just me or Linux is hard to understand.

"Hard" and "easy" are so subjective when used that way -- "hard for you" or "hard for me" is probably closer to a factual statement. I'd say some aspects of it are fairly difficult for a person who only knows Windows. For a person who knows neither Windows nor Linux, it appears to be about the same, in my experience.

I don't have it on my computer until now because I had problems installing it but as far as I see people have serious problems. If someone has problems reading CDs than that IS serious!

That's a good point -- installing and configuring Linux is harder in many ways (but not all ways) than installing and configuring Windows. Hardware builders write drivers for Windows, but not for Linux, in general.

However, once a Linux system is installed and configured, the mere use of it is probably no more difficult than Windows or a Mac, in my opinion. I built my 75-year old mother in-law a Linux system last summer for her very first computer, with which to do online banking, browse for recipes, and exchange e-mail, and it's been pretty trouble-free since June. And she never touched a computer before in her life.

And I'm pretty confident I'll never have to re-install it because of a virus ...

[adileader]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

That's a good point -- installing and configuring Linux is harder in many ways (but not all ways) than installing and configuring Windows. Hardware builders write drivers for Windows, but not for Linux, in general.

However, once a Linux system is installed and configured, the mere use of it is probably no more difficult than Windows or a Mac, in my opinion. I built my 75-year old mother in-law a Linux system last summer for her very first computer, with which to do online banking, browse for recipes, and exchange e-mail, and it's been pretty trouble-free since June. And she never touched a computer before in her life.

And I'm pretty confident I'll never have to re-install it because of a virus ...

Yes but if someone has learned to do things on a Windows but lets say wants to dual-boot windows and Linux like me hes life will be that hard with Linux? Maybe they should work on that.

[mchuskie]

Re: Just got linux on my laptop

Yes but if someone has learned to do things on a Windows but lets say wants to dual-boot windows and Linux like me hes life will be that hard with Linux? Maybe they should work on that.

Linux is not Windows, it isn't trying to be and nor should it. As the old adage goes, "user-friendliness depends on the user"!

I used Windows for years before starting out with Linux about three years ago. Now, what I can do intuitively in Linux I have to think about in Windows on the odd occasion I boot into it.

(I really want to do a test where I sit two old ladies at two identical blank computers, give one a Windows CD and the other a Linux one, and see who successfully installs an OS first...)